There abound a panoply of products in the marketplace designed to comfort a person's foot. Many of these products are inserted into a shoe which acts as a support. These products are designed to alleviate the stress and impact which ensues when one places the full force of their body onto their feet. An average man may weigh approximately 200 pounds which must be placed upon feet with a surface area of approximately 70-80 square inches. Over the course of a day as this person walks a couple miles with hard wooden heels a great deal of stress is directed towards the feet.
Moreover, if a person's feet do not absorb the pressure from the weight of his body properly, the force will be re-allocated elsewhere. For some people, this force and stress may be re-allocated to their knees. For others, this force and stress may be re-allocated to their back. This residual stress to other areas of a person's body may lead to severe back problems, knee problems, and foot-related maladies.
To alleviate these problems most of the shoe inserts offered in the marketplace are essentially a one piece cushion shaped to conform to the outside of a person's foot. The problem with most shoe inserts is the fact that they are soft and do not offer true support to re-direct force and correct balance. A soft shoe insert offers no more support to a person's foot as a tire made out of glass to be mounted on a car. Although a person may receive short-term comfort when using a soft shoe insert, such respite is soon replaced by the same pain and stress. And even if a person does feel measurably better, this is most likely a placebo effect which cannot be sustained.
Another problem with the prior art is the fact that most shoe inserts and similar products are essentially one-piece articles of manufacture. The only way they can conform to a person's foot is through the lateral outline of a person's foot. Unfortunately, each person's foot is idiosyncratic and singular with respect to the under-side of the feet. Each person possesses a foot with an underside which is as unique as a fingerprint. Some people possess wide arches. Some people possess narrow arches. Some people are flat-footed. Some people possess short toes. Some people possess long toes. And some people possess asymmetrical feet, i.e. feet which are different in size and shape in comparison with each other. And others may be missing some toes altogether. The prior art ignores these singularities and does not provide for precision custom-fitting with regards to the undersides of a person's feet.
Another problem which inheres with the prior art is the fact that they do not address the problem of poor balance. For those people who are missing toes, possess one leg which is slightly longer than the other, asymmetrical feet, etc., the prior art's “one size fits all” approach proves inadequate. The prior art does not provide for a way of re-directing or shifting a person's weight properly so that it will impart good balance.
Therefore, what is needed in the art is a custom-fitting system for the support of feet. Such a system should be hard enough to provide a strong foundation for a person's balance. In addition, such system should possess several different pieces which can properly dovetail with the underside of a person's foot.